PART 1: COMMON SENSETom Paine arrives in America penniless just as the struggle for Independence is beginning.His ideas and his writings take him right to the heart of events and his words are read out to Washington's army.PART 2: AGE OF REASONTom Paine is again embroiled in revolution, this time in France.During the Terror his best efforts for the new Republic put him in prison, and American help is a long time coming.Cast:Jonathan Pryce....Tom PaineAlan Howard....Benjamin FranklinKenneth Cranham....JeffersonRomola Garai....CarneyFrancois Guetary....DantonRobert Glenister....Gouvernour MorrisKelly Hunter....Marthe DaleyPhilip Jackson....WashingtonWill Keen....ShortJohn Mcandrew....LafayetteMarcella Riordan....Mrs DowneyPaul Jesson....Sam Adams/Edmund BurkeHugh Ross....House Speaker/BancalJack Shepherd....Rittenhouse/Clio RickmanNick Rowe....Joseph/MonroeClare Perkins....Sally HemmingsChristopher Obi....FatherKwayedza Kureya....Will/ThomasJulia Reinstein....LotteWritten by Trevor GriffithsMusic by John TamsDirected by Clive BrillProduced by Ann ScottA Greenpoint productionin association with Richard Attenborough (First broadcast on Radio 4).Drama about author and intellectual Thomas Paine, who influenced the American Revolution.